Harold D. Johnson

Harold D. Johnson, age 78, of Kearney, died Friday, May 6, 2011 at the Gibbon Good Samaritan Center.Funeral Services will be Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. at the Horner Lieske McBride & Kuhl Funeral and Cremation Services in Kearney with Pastor Dan Safarik officiating.Graveside services will be at the Riverside Cemetery in Crete, Nebraska at 3:30 p.m.Visitation will be Wednesday from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home and one hour prior to the service on Thursday.Memorials are suggested to the family to be designated later.A message of condolence, tribute or memory can be left at www.hlmkfuneral.com.Horner Lieske McBride & Kuhl Funeral and Cremation Service in Kearney are in charge of arrangements. Harold was born December 4, 1932 at the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Depot in Elyria, Nebraska to Vern and Ella (Rabbit) Johnson.They moved to Exeter where he attended elementary school.They then moved to Hastings where he attended middle school and then to Grand Island where he graduated from Grand Island Senior High in 1950.After high school he was a signal maintainer for B.N.S.F. Railroad retiring in 1994.He married Helen Safarik in Grand Island on July 8, 1961.He was a member of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen for 58 years, Ducks Unlimited, and Delta Waterfowl.He enjoyed hunting and fishing with his boys, camping with the family, and loved steam engine locomotives.He had a great passion for the railroad.He was an avid reader and enjoyed traveling to the Black Hills in South Dakota.He also loved his granddaughters. As a boy he would gather corn cobs into bushel baskets which were piled out by the garage by a farmer, and bring them to their home to be used as heat along with coal and wood in the furnace.This paid $.10 a week which he used to go to the Saturday afternoon movie to see Hop Along Cassidy, Gene Autry, or Roy Rogers. Surviving relatives include: Wife Helen Johnson of Kearney, Sons Dave and Trish Johnson of Kearney, NE Mike Johnson of Salt Lake City, UT DaughterSuzanne Johnson and James Vesay of Omaha, NE Granddaughters Emma, Tessa, and Olivia Johnson of Kearney, NE Harold was preceded in death by his parents, 2 Brothers Irwin and Harry Johnson, and Sister Vernice Underwood. PDF Printable Version

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Harold D. Johnson

December 4, 1932 - May 6, 2011